Monday is set to see confirmation of the full 62-car grid for the 2025 Le Mans 24 Hours, plus a list of reserve entries.
With 47 places already determined via the FIA WEC field, 11 automatic invitations plus a further nine LMP2 places already numerically guaranteed, there’s a long list of teams in all three major classes that will be anxiously awaiting the decisions of the ACO Selection Committee.
All 36 FIA WEC full-season cars are automatically accepted, and for the 2025 race, following the conclusion of the Asian Le Mans Series earlier this month, we have a full list of automatic invitations issued.
In Hypercar Porsche Penske Motorsport has a space to take up via an IMSA invitation for a third 963.
In LMP2, six cars have received invitations: first, AO by TF Sport and Inter Europol Competition through their championship finishes in the ELMS. AF Corse has also been invited to enter via its Pro/Am title, as has Algarve Pro Racing after claiming the Asian Le Mans Series title.
RLR M Sport is the only LMP3 team to receive an invitation (for LMP2), following its ELMS championship win.
Also from IMSA, Nick Boulle receives an award to enter a car in LMP2 via the Jim Trueman Award.
As for LMGT3, 2025 Rolex 24 Hours GTD winner Orey Fidani can enter via the IMSA Bob Akin Award, while titles for Iron Lynx in ELMS and Manthey in the Asian Le Mans Series boost the field further. And finally, via the GT World Challenge Europe Bronze Cup, Sky Tempesta Racing can field a car.
In Hypercar, DSC is aware that two additional Cadillac entries have been requested on behalf of Wayne Taylor Racing and Action Express, and Proton Competition is believed to have requested a second independent 963 (which was reserve listed last year). As for BMW, the prospect of a third M Hybrid V8 for the race has now been discounted by the manufacturer after evaluation.
At least a further nine LMP2 entries are set to be accepted to meet the standing arrangement of “at least 15” in the class at Le Mans. It is to be expected that the vast majority – if not all – will come from the European Le Mans Series,. The 2025 entry alone features 17 cars across LMP2 and LMP2 Pro/Am that do not have an automatic invitation.
That’s without considering any further entries from the IMSA SportsCar Championship, or, for instance, Romain Dumas’ new outfit RD Limited, which won a race in Asian Le Mans over the winter and is set to file for a request with the Frenchman listed as a driver.
There are some tough choices to be made by the Selection Committee, as there are no fewer than six two-car LMP2 teams in the ELMS, of which only two currently have a confirmed entry. Amongst those teams is the Genesis Magma Racing-backed IDEC Sport entry, intended to prepare the incoming manufacturer for its 2026 Hypercar debut. It would be a solid guess that preparing for Le Mans is high on its agenda.
It would therefore be fair to expect some big-name teams either on the reserve list or missing out this year.
This brings us to LMGT3. But before we get into that analysis, the pure mathematics behind this is important. With 36 WEC cars, 11 Automatic Invitations and a further minimum of nine LMP2 cars to be added, that already brings us to at least 56 cars. To that total, an absolute maximum of six cars can be accepted from the list of prospective Hypercars, LMP2s and LMGT3s . Whilst we make no presumptions, there is a sensible guess that requests for additional factory Hypercars would be prioritised.
Add in the two Cadillacs, the second Proton 963 and a double-figure number of LMP2s, and a potentially very long list of LMGT3 teams will be competing for just four spots.
It would be fair to assume that pretty much every team competing in the European Le Mans Series LMGT3 class has ambition to race in June. That entry totals 12 cars in 2025, and only the Iron Lynx Mercedes AMG is already guaranteed an entry. Amongst the remaining cars are a number of long-time Le Mans entrants, including Ferraris from GR Racing and JMW Motorsport, as well as historically loyal teams like Kessel Racing (which missed out last year) and no fewer than three AF Corse customer cars.
Add in too, cars from the IMSA SportsCar Championship and the Asian Le Mans Series, and again, there is likely to be a significant number of teams bidding for a tiny allocation of slots. Amongst the teams known to have applied are IMSA and Asian Le Mans Series entrant Optimum Motorsport/Inception Racing, the pole-sitter in LMGT3 last year. Earl Bamber Motorsport, which claimed podiums with Aston Martin in the Asian Le Mans Series over the winter, also wishes to enter.
The simple mathematics involved expose the pressure both on the selection process and in particular on the teams involved. It’s also the hub of a debate around any further expansion in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Consider for a moment what would have happened if the FIA WEC grid in 2025 had reached its maximum entry cap of 40 cars. In those circumstances, the two paragraphs immediately above this one would simply not be under consideration.
2023 and 2024 saw astonishing races at La Sarthe and 2025 has every prospect of raising the bar further. There are pressures for the future though, to ensure that teams at every level of the sportscar racing ladder have realistic prospects of gaining an entry, on merit, for the race that draws everybody to this area of the sport.
